What better way to observe Pittsburgh's 250th birthday than for its mayor to advocate that it strip itself of any sovereignty or legitimacy and serve itself up on a platter to the 129 principalities that encircle it?

Mayor Luke Ravenstahl and Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato are urging Allegheny County residents to embrace the idea of doing away with the city's government and creating, in its place, an "urban services district" to be administered by the county ("County, City Want to Merge," April 4). They're claiming that consolidating the city and county governments is a necessity because it will bring cost savings and efficiency and eliminate duplication of services.

Is it efficient for the rest of the county's 129 municipalities (police departments, fire departments and all) to continue to exist? Why aren't we debating whether they should consolidate? If the county's municipal boundaries were redrawn according to school districts' borders, we would eliminate 86 unnecessary, duplicative governments in one fell swoop, as opposed to the elimination of one city that happens to be the biggest, most important of them all.

Maybe Pittsburgh should become its own county, independent of Allegheny County. Philadelphia is both a city and a county and, therefore, enjoys more autonomy. The mayor says, "We can no longer afford the status quo." We can all agree on that. The idea of a single county composed of 130 municipalities (the most of any county in the nation) is absurd to outsiders. But the great city at its core -- the city that was there first -- is not the problem.

BRENT BOSS
Shadyside

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Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato's and Mayor Luke Ravenstahl's call for city-county consolidation with zero tolerance for service duplication demonstrates leadership for our region's prosperity ("County, City Want to Merge," April 4). By merging city and county, we signal to the world that the Pittsburgh region can and will innovate governance for the 21st century.

Sustainable Pittsburgh urges particular attention to the committee's (chaired by University of Pittsburgh Chancellor Mark Nordenberg) recommendations on the need to ensure that minority representation would not decline as a result of consolidation. Representation of minorities must be top priority to ensure that government reform effectively uses this opportunity to narrow the social disparities gap and bring enhanced opportunity for more residents to fulfill their dreams of the most livable region. This is a goal most worthy of a future-focused 250th celebration.

COURT GOULD
Executive Director
Sustainable Pittsburgh
Downtown

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I take serious issue with a statement made by John Adams, a black business official addressing a group of white business merchants at a meeting of the Hill District Trade Association on April 19, 1968: "We know why we had riots ... white merchants were taking everything from the Hill and putting nothing back ..." ("MLK Riots Left Mark on City," April 2 Magazine)

The Mainway Supermarket on Centre Avenue, the Hill District's only supermarket in its history, was owned and operated for 14 years by four brothers who were born and grew up above the much-smaller family store on Webster Avenue; the eldest was my father.

A large, state-of-the-art, full-service supermarket, the Mainway was customer-friendly and catered to the elderly and the disabled. Government food vouchers could be used. Merchandise was priced reasonably. The all-black staff was well-paid and well-treated.

The Mainway and its owners were members and supporters of the NAACP. The families of the community had fresh dairy products, produce, fish, poultry, meats cut to order and a wide selection of groceries. The owners of the Mainway earned a living for their families and served the Hill District long and well from 1954 through April 4, 1968, when Dr. Martin Luther King was assassinated. The next day, the Mainway was looted and burned to the ground. Up to that time there had been amiable and reciprocally amicable relationships between whites and blacks, Christians and Jews, and all the multiethnic groups that had lived in harmony on the Hill.

I was 25 when my family's business, an exemplary racial, social and business environment, was irrationally destroyed by the terrorists of those times. Each year since 1968, at this time, I am sad for the family business that was destroyed, the neighborhood and the friendly relations with it.

BONNIE PODOLSKY THEINER
Squirrel Hill

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I am a Sheraden resident, so the editorial concerning the Zone 6 police station caught my attention ("Posting Police: Fair Deployment Would Boost Safety Citywide," April 1). Because of rivers and hillsides, the West End neighborhoods are set apart from the city and easily forgotten. The Zone 4 police station was sacrificed due to budget cuts. As a result, we saw increased crime and our streets were less safe.

With the help of our councilman, Dan Deasy, we are fighting to change our communities around. We envision safer neighborhoods and increased stability for our West End neighborhoods. Our designation as a federal "Weed and Seed" site and the subsequent reopening of our police station are the stepping stones to our path to neighborhood revitalization.

Opening Zone 6 has allowed for our "Weed and Seed" committee to form a close working relationship with Commander Schubert and our officers. Our 911 calls are lower because of our police station, this relationship and the visible presence of these officers in our community. We have mobilized our communities to come together as a group, and our residents are making more use of the mayor's 311 system.

Community activism and good police work are having a positive impact, which is resulting in fewer calls. The police station has become an integral part of our communities and we are happy to have it. We need our police in our communities to help us achieve our vision, a safe neighborhood. The problem is not that Zone 6 has an excess of officers. The problem may be that the other areas have too few.

DEBBIE WHITFIELD
Sheraden

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"Tips for Downtown," an April 6 letter by Linda McCollester, has awakened the questions that I have about where is the average worker going to find affordable housing Downtown among the many upper-income rentals that seem to be sprouting up in the so-called "cultural" areas?

JERRY MORRIS
Lawrenceville

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